HP Institute to tackle IT skills gap

IT giant HP has launched an academic partnership scheme called HP Institute which is aimed at helping alleviate IT skills shortages around the world.

HP said that studies from sources such as e-Skills UK showed that there was an urgent need to boost IT tech training given the lack of job-focused IT skills in UK school leavers and graduates.

The tech giant is to partner with schools, colleges and universities across the UK to help improve the IT skills of over 20,000 students over the next four years.

"Customer and channel partners tell us that they are experiencing a growing shortage of job-ready IT professionals with the right skills to grow and innovate within our businesses," said HP UK and IReland boss Nick Wilson.

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"HP is starting the Institute programme to address this need. We are working with education to continuously enhance the talent pool of graduates with the precise skills and experience businesses need most to help them succeed today and in the future."

Rather than generally encouraging the study of IT and computer science, HP appears set on churning out graduates that can immediately work on "industry-standard technologies", they said.

The scheme is aimed at offering a HP Accredited Technical Associate (ATA) qualification at academic institutions which the firm claimed would "elevate degree programmes" so that graduates were "more rounded and better qualified."

HP will move to link graduates and HP's alliance partner and reseller network in the UK, encouraging their partners to recruit ATA certified professionals and demonstrating a preference to hire graduates with ATA qualifications.